What rights does a third party requester have regarding new findings of patentability in inter partes reexamination?
In inter partes reexamination, a third party requester’s rights to comment on new findings of patentability are limited until the appeal stage, unless the patent owner responds to the finding.
According to MPEP 2673.01:
“The third party requester has no right to comment on and address a finding of patentability made during the reexamination proceeding until the appeal stage, unless the patent owner responds (after which the third party requester may file comments).”
This means that if a new finding of patentability is made (e.g., a rejection is withdrawn or a claim is found patentable), the third party requester can only address this finding at the appeal stage, similar to how they would address findings of patentability made earlier in the proceeding where the patent owner did not respond.
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